Cole and Mary Ann’s journey to marriage first started when Cole started teaching at Cathedral in the fall of 2020. They actually shared one class period as “classroom neighbors” but they both put each other “in a friend box” at first. Through waves of being teacher friends and coaching friends, their friendship grew to “outside-of-school” friends with group hangs at trivia and hiking. During this time, Cole really wanted the friendship to grow outside of the box so after learning that MA also enjoyed biking, they went on their first solo friend hang out biking the Fall Creek Trail. In Cole’s mind, this was a huge step towards taking MA outside of the box from four years before but in MA’s mind, this was still just a co-worker bike ride. Cole stayed with it though, and after a second bike ride fell through due to scheduling, he eventually walked into MA’s classroom on November 1st, 2024 to ask her out on a real date.

This classroom conversation led to a few weekly hikes at Fort Ben and Eagle Creek Park. While on one of these hikes at Eagle Creek, MA admitted “I can’t stop thinking about you”, and much to Cole’s excitement, this led to their first dinner date at Upland Brewery after another hike. After being spotted by a student of theirs at Half Liter BBQ on one of their first dates, Cole and MA gracefully (maybe not so gracefully - it’s SO hard to have a personal life as a teacher!) started navigating the beginning of their relationship. It quickly deepened into a loving, caring relationship that led to an aligning of family and faith values, passions, careers, and hobbies. Their relationship has taken them on many adventures together: Indy hiking & biking, coffee walks on the Monon, exploring local restaurants together, regular family and friend hangs, a hiking trip to see the White sisters in Washington, and supporting each other in their teaching and coaching.

MA and Cole decided to train for the “Willkie Days” 54 mile bike ride out in Rush County, Indiana in the fall of 2025. Preparing for this bike ride, they decided to have conversation topics for the bike ride to help pass the time, and it was here that Cole and MA switched from hypothetical marriage conversations to real marriage conversations. This journey would continue until their engagement on March 13, 2026 on the same hike, at the same bench, at Eagle Creek Park where Cole & MA first fully decided to start dating.

They are so thankful for their family, friends, co-workers, and of course, students and athletes who have supported them through their relationship. Cole and Mary Ann cannot wait for everyone to join them on November 14th for a beautiful wedding ceremony and a big party as they pedal their way into a loving marriage!